Splendid Sodankylä

Was bored since I couldn't do anything much, so went for a walk along the river bank and took some photos and one video. I combined the video with the one from last Christmas and added a song and some quotes.

Heat Wave

We've been having very hot weather during the day for at least a week. It reached 30'C under the sun and sometimes it felt even hotter when there was less wind, though some days thankfully the wind was rather cool. Plus it helps that the temperature goes down during the night/morning. So on a very hot day I went out biking the other time. I went to the river area and was amazed at how striking the difference was between summer and winter. The bushes were so lush and tall and I did take some photos. 

Here goes...Lappish summer at its best! The weather report site says that this has been the hottest period ever in 50 years all over Finland with the mean temperature of 20,7'C. Amazing! And many people thought it would be a crappy summer after last year's super glorious and long summer and the fact that the beginning of summer here was cold. I'm glad to report that today has been raining and it's been cool, though. It's nice for a change. Plus people here aren't really geared up for super hot weather non-stop because they're more prepared for cold winters ha ha...

Enjoy the photos! Oh, and the house in one of the pics isn't ours. It's just one of those that attracted my eyes. Have a blessed weekend, people!

P.S.: As contrast, here are other photos of the river area (taken from different sides) at different times of the year:

Spring
Autumn
Winter

First Summery Day

I've been busy this holiday week with spring cleaning, a car trip, and garden cleaning that I haven't had time/energy to blog or blog-hop. Last Monday was the first summery day here. The temperature was 21'C, so I decided to go on a bike ride because I also needed to buy some groceries. 

Here are some photos I took. The grass in the photos aren't green yet, but they are green now. :-) In less than just a week there are so many buds already showing up here and there and the green grass just makes it clearer that summer is here, though the nights can still be pretty cold. 

Sign of summer: sandals! :-D It felt nice to ride my bike without having to wear any jacket ha ha ha ha...Btw, those sandals are kiddies' size (that's why they're decorated - size 35). Cheaper than adult sandals LOL!!! :-D And yes, in the fourth picture you can still see some ice in the river, though it's melted away now. 

That day I also saw two ducks in the river, so here are two photos...In the second photo, the duck was staring at me LOL! :-D I love the track it leaves behind, don't you? :-D

I spent two days cleaning the windows and changing the curtains ha ha ha ha ha...also did more exercise, which was good, too, though I overdid it twice, so some days it was hard to get up and move (my legs were especially sore) LOL!!! I've taken more photos ever since Monday, but I'm going to share them later.

A Freezing Day

Today the temperature went down to around -32'C in the morning. It's gone a little bit up now (around -29'C). For some reason I've been wanting to walk more than riding my bike lately and I was really psyched today to walk to a friend's place that was around 3.5 km away from my place. It sure was cold, but I had bundled myself up pretty well and I wore the longest winter jacket that I had, so it wasn't so bad (just my cheeks felt frozen and my nose kept on running). Then after that I walked downtown to send some Christmas postcards and walked back home. So in total I walked for about 6 km today. WOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! :-D

Had fun chit-chatting with my friend and catching up on our lives. :-D Another friend couldn't come because her car refused to start. The friend whom I visited also had trouble starting up her car this morning. It was just too cold, I suppose. 

On Saturday I walked to MIL's place and it was around -20'C. I brought my camera with me just in case. Here are some of the pics I took on the way to MIL's place. The bicycle in the first pic is at the edge of a frozen river.

Frozen Kitinen river:

The photo below is the pedestrian walkway leading towards the bridge. The frozen river is on the right side of the picture.

When I was walking across the bridge, I looked up and noticed these birds he he he he...

On Saturday the temperature went down to -23'C when I walked back home. Today the sky was more pink than in the photos above, but I didn't bring my camera with me. Besides, when it's so cold outside, it's so hard to press the button to take pictures because your fingers are freezing - either that or you wear such thick gloves that make it hard to press the button to take a pic ha ha ha...

Gardening Question + Buds!!!

BUDS! I see BUDS in my garden patch!!! Here are some pics:





YIIIPPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIEEE!!! Hope they grow! I haven't seen too many buds in the front row, though. I hope they'll come later. :-D

Now I have a question to those plant lovers. What do I have to do with this patch of dead roses??? Any advice would be MUCH appreciated, THANK YOU!!!



Should I just water it, pull everything out, or what?

The other day I also took some photos of Kitinen River area (it's very near from the daycare) - LOVE that spot he he he he...




Today we've been raking dead leaves from the yard for hours. Now we're tired and we're going to sauna later. WOOOHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'll blog-hop some more later on. ;-D

The Interview + A Few Photos

The interview went okay enough for my first job interview in Finnish. I faltered a bit when I was asked about my strengths, though ha ha ha ha ha...but I managed to get around it 'coz the question was rephrased.

The bottom line is that I haven't got the job yet, because the boss wants me to do a 3-month-training before deciding anything. This is good in some ways 'coz I've never done such a thing before and I also have plenty of time to decide whether it's something I want to do for a long time or not. I mean...if we've signed on a job contract, then it's harder for me to stop working. But if after the training I decide that the job doesn't suit me, it won't be a problem for me to stop after the 3 month period is over. BUT if the job does suit me, well...it all depends on whether the boss wants to hire me or not he he he he...

Anyway, I'm just GLAD it's OVER HA HA HA HA HA...Actually, since I had to wait for about 25 minutes before the interview was done, I had plenty of time to calm myself HI HI HI HI...

Oh yeah, the training will only start after we get back from Rhodes, so now I only need to go to the library tomorrow and on Wednesday and then I can start browsing for all the good things that we can do in Rhodes!!!! YIIIPPPIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!! :-D

Last Saturday I went to my friends' place and we played Snakes and Ladders, Uno, and Mikado he he he he...I brought some food and they also offered some food, so it was a fun night. Here's a pic of me and the girls...


On the way back home, I managed to take these pics at around midnight...These are all the view of Kitinen river nearby our place. It was nice to get out at night since the air was SO fresh after the falling rain...and then I also got to see this beautiful view...ahhhhh...

Day 1 of Training

INTERESTING!!! That's what I can say about being a helper at the library he he he...

First I was introduced to everybody who was there, then I had to wait for my trainer for about 10 minutes. She came and then showed me around the place. She told me about how they organized the shelves and the books on the shelves. Then she told me about the process of putting the books to the shelves: they had to find out what the books were, then they had to put plastic covers and bar code label and some other label. Then they had to register the books to the bar code machine before putting them on the shelves. Old books were put in their small warehouse. It was COOL to know all these things!

My first task was to return the returned books to the shelves. Then I had to organize Christmas books on a special shelf. Then I was told how to use the bar code machine as they took out some old books from the warehouse. Then I was told to stamp plenty of old cassettes with the label "taken out".

So it's been FAR busier than my other two training experiences. I just hope it keeps up he he he he...well, even if I don't have too much to do on other days, I can always read something as they have SO MANY books he he he he...

Anyway, let me share some more pics taken from last weekend!

First pic: this is something I WANT for myself!!! See that red sled where the little girl is sitting? I WANT ONE!!! I want to sit on it and slide down the snowy hill one day he he he...Actually, it's also VERY practical to drag your son/daughter on the sled while going out, unless your kid acts up and runs away HA HA HA HA HA...


Second pic: The Kitinen bridge (near downtown Sodankylä) and its frozen river.


Third pic: These birds are flying around the bridge-river area and then they landed on the frozen river for a little while. It was a BEAUTIFUL sight as they flew here and there together as a group...mmmm...





OK, I'll blog-hop tomorrow as I'm pretty tired now he he he...